Having only passed my test in September this is my first winter of riding. I was thinking of putting my bike away somewhere for a few months but I’d miss her too much. So it’s getting used.
Road lines: When the gritters have been out, is it best to ride in car tracks or stick to the middle where the grit is? That might sound like a silly question, but you never know.
Locks: Both my chain and disk lock were frozen this morning, had to run back into the flat to get some warm water, as I’ve placed the locks where they’re hard to reach I couldn’t pour the water over them I had to use a syringe to shoot some water into the pin. Any ideas on how best to prevent them freezing? WD40?
Am in the same boat as yourself, being a bit of noob.
Not sure which is the best line, I’ve always gone for which ever is driest. Sometimes its the middle, some times the car tyre tracks. Watch out for painted markings and drain covers, they’re super slippery at the moment. Had my back end slip quite scarily on a drain cover, whilst turning at a junction last night. Was fine once it found tarmac again, and managed to stay upright, but took me by surprise a bit!
As for locks, I’ve been covering the keys and key holes in Vaseline as they had already been getting a bit stiff. With enough on, this has prevented moisture getting in. If you’ve already put hot water on them, you’ll have to watch that that now doesn’t freeze. Get the WD40 on them to get the water out before tonight, then some sort of lube to prevent more water getting in.
My biggest problem has been visor and glasses steaming up, every time I pull at some lights and sit for minute…
Locks - I assume ACF-50 would work? Funnily enough never had that issue when I parked it outside. There are lock specific solutions I remember seeing but never really looked into it to much.
Lines: can be difficult, try and keep the dry lines if visible. White lines when filtering are tricky areas (spun out this morning but stayed on and straight). Chance is that if you’re following a car, where there tyre has gone has created enough heat to melt any residual ice but this i’m not too sure on.
Ultimately it’s always going to be a problem and you never know when you get caught out… some roads are prone to moisture in the evening (rivers, trees etc) so these will always be more treacherous.
Go slow, lean little, don’t break hard and hope for the best!
I’m on my third year of riding, all weathers and seasons. To be honest, just treat it as you we’re riding on wet roads.
Beware of white lines, drain covers, the usual. Plan well ahead to reduce sharp breaking, nice and gentle in the turns. As long as you’ve got a decent set of tyres, you’ll be fine.
I still have not really got used to Winter Riding, despite having passed my test in 2004!
However, when I had the Hornet I was doing winter rides out from Box absolutely fine - all because of heated grips - they are the business. Now I have some brilliant electrical gloves, which enables motorway trips on the Triumph (naked bike) with a wind blast and still having warm (ish) hands. So get yourself some heated gear (NEC had some last year) and you will be as warm as toast in all conditions.
Re riding itself, the only thing I would say is NEVER chance it in the snow. I have done this once - aiming to only make it onto the gritted roads - and came a cropper before I’d reached the end of my street. Ice patches can also be lethal, so take it slowly in freezing conditions and treble the stopping distance. Also get a cover for the bike when it’s outside - a good one.
That may all sound really obvious above, but it might be of some use.
Wearing gloves in general is always a good start Jokes aside - when I used to commute on the bike I just took my time, plenty of distance etc. Avoid harsh acceleration (back will kick out, scared me a few times) and harsh braking. +1 on waterproofs really good insulator, not massively expensive either compared to a new winter jacket. Staying warm is really improtant cos when it starts to hurt from the cold (usually on the tips of your fingers) it really hurts and distracts you from your riding. Innersoles in your boots really helps keep your feet warm.
avoid secondary roads as much as possible, as there will be more chance of black ice and not enough cars to warm it up.
warm your bike as much as possible. i dont leave until temperature says at least 65degrees. then ride for a good 15min for the tires to reach acceptable temperature before even thinking of opening the throttle or leaning over. this is based on temperatures as per this morning and town riding.
in the countryside, today i would have taken the car or public transport
not sure whats the best thing about finding your lock frozen as mine lives in the garage. i would have thought spray it with an alcohol based liquid to melt the ice.
to prevent icing maybe try to cover it up with a cloth.
All good tips above. Pinlock, heated gloves, one piece waterproofs all work for me.
Last year when the snow came I immediately cleared a long wide path from my garage to the road (I live in a private road so other residents would have driven over the private road and compacted the snow, which meant the snow would then have been there for days longer than if you clear it straight away). I lost no days due to the snow that way - and once I am on the road my route is all busy roads that slush and clear quickly.
The other thing I would suggest is have your backup plan ready to go. So charge up the Oyster or whatever you need to do so that if you wake up one morning and you see bad conditions. That way you won’t be tempted to chance it if you are 50-50 about riding that day.
The most useful advice someone gave me was to always leave myself more time to get somewhere. Mistakes happen when you rush and that’s truer in the winter
I’m gonna go with Plum here. Keeping warm is so important. I’ve been caught out a couple of times. Further through my hour or so commute, my legs and arms we’re so cold it effected my riding. Gear changes, braking and putting my foot down at lights even banking the bike, all we’re more effort and less co-ordinated cos I was cold.
winter is not the time to be bombing about, been there… binned it…
as said ride as if it where wet, nice and slow, take your time, braking must be done gently and no sharp braking at all, it will tuck the front very quickly…
stay out of the shadows, trees etc anywhere the sun hasn’t yet reached in the mornings- chances are ice will be waiting as its not thawed yet.
road markings, man hole covers, wet leaves, the little gaps between speed humps, all sorts.
your tyres will not warm up in this weather, not in 15 min’s anyway… try 15 miles…
keep lean angles to a minimum.
its a good idea to ride in winter, teaches you a lot about self control and throttle control, if you can make it through winter without dramas then the summer is a piece of piss!
That was one of my biggest lessons when I first started. Rode across a patch of the innocent little bastards littered the road. The bike had a little slide as my a-hole puckered right up!
Remember the first time the bike had a little wriggle coming off a roundabout. Too much throttle too soon. Feels like you’ve just gone off the top off a big coaster… knew I’d done bad, but felt soooooo goood. Big grin for a while after.
its good when it spins up, lets you know what you can and cant get away with:D
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My first winter of not riding in 20 years of the nonsense . Keep on your toes , look as far ahead as you can and anticipate . Switch off the part of the brain that would go for it and wait instead .
Locks hate grease, oil and water. If the lock sticks in the cold it already has water in it forming ice or corrosion so don’t add to that. Use WD40 to release the lock and disperse any water. Then lubricate with a spray dry lube. Maplin sell a silicon lube for things like locks. I find it needs a bit of help though, but dry lube plus WD40 works well. If the lock is explosed ot al lweathers it might be worth using a bag wrapped round it to stop rain penetrating it and then freezing. There may be some condensation but WD40 and silicon lube should deal with that.
Jokes aside - when I used to commute on the bike I just took my time, plenty of distance etc. Avoid harsh acceleration (back will kick out, scared me a few times) and harsh braking. +1 on waterproofs really good insulator, not massively expensive either compared to a new winter jacket. Staying warm is really improtant cos when it starts to hurt from the cold (usually on the tips of your fingers) it really hurts and distracts you from your riding. Innersoles in your boots really helps keep your feet warm.
